CTmon is a current monitor which aims at providing visual feedback on the current flowing through an AC circuit. A threshold point can be set on the device and depending on whether the measured current is higher or lower than that threshold, a red or green LED will be lit.
The current measurement is galvanically isolated via the use of a current transformer.

PWMctrl is a simple 555-based PWM generator for PWM-capable fan control. This is a simple and well known circuit and the applications are broader than simple fan control but there are a few caveats that I believe are worth documenting.

rWCHC is a project aimed at implementing a versatile weather-compensatedcentral heating controller. The goal is to provide smart, accurate and optimal temperature control based on outdoor temperature variations, building structure and occupant habits, in order to maximize comfort and reduce power usage (minimize both the impact on the environment and the energy bill). The system is designed to be scalable and remote operable (via internet connection).

This project is composed of two parts: a custom-designed hardware module (the topic of this page) to perform the actual power control on heating appliances, and a software module (described here).

prgctl is a programmable dual-channel low power solid-state relay. This device is primarily designed to interface between a “dumb” signal source (e.g. a switch) and a power relay for mains-voltage appliance control (the original goal is to enforce safe restrike timings for HID lamps), but it can easily be adapted to other usecases.

exSID USB is a MOS Technology SID hardware playback device that connects to modern computers via USB. The goal of this project is to enable accurate, true to the original hardware playback of SID music (such as what can be found in the High Voltage SID Collection) in a convenient, 21st-century compatible way: without a working C64. Needless to say, it sounds fantastic: it will exSID your expectations! :)

The Nixie Clock-o-Meter is pretty much what the name implies: it’s a clock, first and foremost, that uses Nixie tubes to display information. It’s also a thermometer, and a hygrometer. It comes with a couple bells and whistles as it is, and aims at being a cost effective design (save for the cost of the tubes themselves, of course). And oh, did I mention just how cool it looks? :)

Thanks to the hard work of Rainer Buchty it’s now a known fact that there once was a plan at Ensoniq to make a rack-mount version of their famous SQ80. And as it turns out, prototypes based on the ESQ-M hardware were made, and one of these prototypes was reverse-engineered by Rainer, leading to an actual recipe to build an Ensoniq SQ80-M (or SQ-80m) from an ESQ-M.

Thanks to the very detailed explanations provided by Rainer, and after a bit of experimentation, I came out with a simple solution to convert an ESQ-M into an SQ80-M in a relatively easy, non-destructive and reversible way, which I’m introducing here.

For fun and because I needed one, I set out to build a JAMMASuperGun. (It’s not a weapon, by the way. It’s an adapter for arcade games ;P). There are some guides on the web to do so, but factual information is scarse and none of the designs I’ve seen matched what I wanted. So here’s my little contribution to the world of SuperGuns.

MinuteMaid is a simple programmable timer to control a mains-voltage appliance, with direct power supply (it powers itself from the mains without using a transformer). I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted so here’s a workable solution to this problem. It’s all documented after the usual:

rPi Ctrl is a small interface board for the Raspberry Pi that makes it possible to control appliances through the GPIOs of the Pi. I document here what I came up with, for others to use and abuse. Enjoy! It’s all documented after the usual: